Robert De Niro Doing Lombardi, Midnight Run 2

Published by Jeff Leins on March 10, 2010

The once great Robert De Niro is lining up two movies that will hopefully bring him back to acting brilliance.

Universal is gearing up another Midnight Run for the 66-year-old actor twenty two years after the original.  De Niro will reprise his role as Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter tasked in the first with transporting an embezzler (played by Charles Grodin) across the country.  Grodin retired from acting to become a journalist, so he won’t be back for the sequel, which is a shame because its their twosome that made it work.

This time De Niro will be given a “younger, comedic foil,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.  I can only imagine a wise-cracking Shia LaBeouf or a sassy sidekick like Tracy Morgan going for all the laughs.  Tim Dowling is writing the screenplay.

Meanwhile, De Niro has signed to play legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi for an ESPN Films biopic, titled simply Lombardi, written by Tim Roth (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Forrest Gump).

I can only assume this means the movie will be about a boy born fatherless with birth defects who overcomes adversity to leave his saintly mother and strike out into the world for a series of wild adventures where he learns about friendship and especially love.  I’m kidding.  It’ll be about football.

According to the Risky Business Blog, the film will focus on the years Lombardi rebuilt the Packers into a powerhouse team and five-time champions in the early 60’s.  ESPN acquired the life rights from his estate and has the blessing of the National Football League, so there won’t be anything controversial about the story.  They’re planning a January 2012 release between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.